Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame: Episode 6
by TommyOliverMMPRFan
Summary: The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame series returns with its sixth episode, and this time we're going to the Samurai season and examining the actions of one Jayden Shiba. My first Samurai based fanfic. In particular this episode takes a look at why you can't blame him for his two major disappearances during the war with Xandred.
1. 1: Case Against, Best of Rest

A/N 1: It's the beginning of the sixth installment of the T5RYCB Ranger Series. This time, we Go, Go Samurai to that season and look at the actions of one Jayden Shiba, and why you can't blame him for leaving the Shiba House during the middle of the war with Master Xandred...twice.

A/N 2: This is my first Samurai based story (thanks Netflix for allowing me to binge watch that season), so I hope this goes well. This is sort of a test drive so to speak. If all goes well, you can expect a massive crossover story with several Ranger teams in coming months. Including that season.

A/N 3: You know the drill...Power Rangers belongs to Saban and formerly Disney as well, and T5RYCB and your new host Jonathan "The Coach" Coachman (formerly of WWE fame) belong to ESPN.

Chapter 1 – Case Against Jayden, Best of the Rest

(Show comes on the air and music starts playing)

"Jayden, you can't go!" Mia Watanabe says.

 _"Coming up on the Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame..."_ Jonathan Coachman says

"No true Power Ranger, unless he is forced, should ever up and leave his team in the middle of a war...Ever," Jason Scott says. "Especially someone who wears a shade of red. Conner McKnight did the same thing on Tommy's team and I let him have it."

"Jayden is my best friend, and I know that Lauren's return hit him really hard, because Lauren is my girlfriend now," Antonio Garcia says. "But him leaving...twice...during the war, is very hard to justify."

"He was and is very hard headed and stubborn," Emily says, "but we were in the middle of a brutal war where the monsters were getting worse daily. It's still hard to accept that he left us twice."

(Montage of Ranger moments starts playing, as does the show's theme, then the logo appears followed by Coachman)

 _Hello again everybody, I'm The Coach, and welcome to the Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame Ranger Series, a series that takes a fresh look at Power Ranger topics and controversies which have been largely popular since the show started in 1993. Our mission is not to vilify the subject of these controversies, simply to take a look at the positive side of what they did. You will hear evidence and testimony from all characters. All you need is an open mind,"_ Coach says. _"In this show, we head to the Samurai season and examine the actions of one Jayden Shiba, and in particular him leaving his team not once, but twice, during the war with Master Xandred and his band of Nighloks. We're going to count down the top 5 reasons you can't blame him for leaving twice, but first, let's examine the tenure of one of the most unique Red Rangers in history."_

(Tape of Jayden rolls, showing him fully morphed as Red Samurai Ranger)

"As someone who is married to a Red...or Crimson, the Red Rangers are completely different from any other color set of Rangers in history," Tori Hanson-Bradley (wife of Hunter Bradley) says. "But I'm not sure anyone has had the history that Jayden Shiba had."

"He was targeted as much as any Ranger in history, and yet somehow always survived," Cole Evans said. "I know because, while he doesn't know, I share a piece of his history."

 _"As a young kid, Jayden had trained all his life for the fight against Master Xandred, and when it was time, though he had reservations about being teammates with four other members, and later five, he was ready to lead his team,"_ Coach said. _"And with his Fire Smasher and all the other weapons at his disposal, he immediately made an impact."_

"The one thing you must remember about Jayden...his resiliency and refusal to lose is the trait that made him a great Power Ranger," Mentor Ji says. "Whatever it took to be successful, he was going to do it."

 _"During his journey, he mastered the Beetle Disc which allowed the Rangers to beat a tough opponent. Amongst other things, he also gained control of the Bull and Shark Zords and gained the power of the Bullzooka,"_ Coach said. _"In all, Jayden had at his disposal eight different Ranger forms; Samurai Mode, Mega Mode, Super Samurai Mode, Super Mega Mode, Shark Attack, Shark Attack Mega, Shogun and Illusion Mode. This accounts for third most in Power Ranger history as well as those forms' various weapons."_

"And the amazing thing is, with all that power, he knew just how to use that power to win a fight," Tommy Oliver said. "When you have that much power on your hands, you are going to be a target, and he was among the most targeted Rangers in history. And yet the power he possessed and his will to win won the day every time."

(Next the tape rolls of him walking away from his team in "The Great Duel")

 _"However, not all of his actions were a bed of roses for the 18th head of the Shiba Clan. In particular, he walked away from his team twice during the fight with Xandred, something that has landed him in hot water with some of the Rangers past legends and even the Samurai themselves,"_ Coach said

 _"The first was during a fight with a Nighlok with a Scottish accent called Robtish, who flattened the Rangers and Jayden in his first encounter with them. In that battle, it was revealed that the Red Ranger and head of the Shiba Clan, with their sealing power, was the only thing that could seal Xandred,"_ Coach said. _"Feeling the pressure, and knowing what the truth was, which will be revealed later in this episode, Jayden left the Shiba House at night, not wanting to put the team in harm's way."_

"I've been to Panorama City and it is really boring," Jen Scotts-Collins said. "If it wasn't such a boring city I would have beat the crap out of him for doing that. The first time, that is."

 _"Jayden would be attacked the next day by Robtish and his Moogers and the team would eventually win the fight. Jayden returned to the team, and continued on his journey. However, when his sister, Lauren, arrived on the scene and defeated Fiera, Jayden was planning on leaving the house for good, feeling that his time had come,"_ Coach said.

"The first time he left, I understood because he was feeling a lot of pressure," Kevin said. "The second time, I still tell Jayden I can't reconcile that. At that point, the war with Xandred was as bad as it ever was."

"Even though Lauren had arrived on the team, we welcomed her with open arms and we'd have made Jayden welcome still," Emily said. "But...he chose to leave us and he put himself, and by extension all of us in danger because we cared that much."

 _"Things only got worse for Jayden from there, as it turned out that he was not just walking away from the place he called home, but into the fight of his life with the tormented Deker, the final duel between the two,"_ Coach said. _"In the end, Jayden escaped with his life, and he and the rest of the Rangers defeated Xandred, but it still was not seen by some in the Ranger family as very wise to walk away from home, or accept the duel."_

"Fact is, Power Rangers win as a team, we lose as a team, we celebrate and mourn as a TEAM. This has been true throughout all of history," Kimberly Hart-Oliver said. "For a Ranger, and a Red Ranger at that, to walk away from his team...just grinds my gears."

"I stopped through Panorama City on concert tour during the time where the Samurai Rangers were fighting Xandred. That guy was as big and bad as Mesogog, Zedd, Rita, Mondo, Divatox, Trakeena, Lothor, you name it," Kira McKnight said. "I know Conner did it once so I give him grief about it, but for a Red to walk away from his team, at the HEIGHT of the war, that's just not excusable."

(Picture of Jayden walking away from the Shiba House is shown as the tape ends)

 _"Now you can see why Jayden is criticized by many Ranger legends for being at times distant from his teammates, in more ways than one,"_ Coach said. _"But ah, there is much more to this story. Before we count down the top 5 reasons you can't blame Jayden for walking away from his team, we have reasons that did not quite make the cut. We call them the Best of the Rest."_

(Picture of Jayden standing alone, key word alone, is rolled)

 _"He always walked as the lone wolf,"_ Coach said. _"A trait that has defined many Red Rangers throughout history, Jayden would often distance himself from his team, preferring to walk the path the way he wanted it walked."_

"I'm married to a Red, so I know about Reds being lone wolves," Aisha Campbell-DeSantos says. "What Jayden does is nothing new. Reds are macho, they think they can do it all themselves. It's what makes Reds so loved...and very annoying at times. He may have been in the blue suit but Rocky fought King Mondo alone once. How very Red Ranger of him."

"How do you blame Jayden for walking out on his team when he's simply another Red to do something brash and some would say stupid?" Ashley says. "I married the guy that helped put Forever Red together, and by the way he needed ice bags when I got through with him after that."

 _"Another Best of the Rest: He Returned Both Times,"_ Coach said, _"which helped build trust amongst team members that no matter what happened, the team would always stick together."_

"I think what's important to remember, as someone who is engaged to him," Mia Watanabe said, "is that Jayden never wanted us to get hurt. He was only looking out for us and the good of the world. He wanted to fight this alone because he didn't want others to get hurt for his cause."

"The good thing is, when he returned both times, he figured out he needed us," Mia said.

"That was his biggest lesson learned as a Ranger, that he needed his teammates," Ji said. "He learned it a little the first time, but after his final fight with Deker is when he really learned how much his team loved him, and they truly loved him back."

"By the end, they were a true team, I saw it when I came back for the Legendary Battle, and Reefside High is major rivals with Panorama City in a lot of sports," Tommy said. "You could see how much those guys loved each other and I think that's the one major thing Jayden learned by the end...team."

 _"When we come back, we'll begin our countdown, and we'll examine the wear and tear Jayden suffered as a result of being constantly targeted as much as any Ranger in history,"_ Coach said.

"One thing is for sure...being a Red Ranger and being in the line of fire all the time...is no bed of roses," Jayden said.

(Music plays as segment ends)

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please leave one if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.**


	2. 2: Always a Target, Finding Himself

A/N 1: It's the sixth installment of the T5RYCB Ranger Series. This time, we Go, Go Samurai to that season and look at the actions of one Jayden Shiba, and why you can't blame him for leaving the Shiba House during the middle of the war with Master Xandred...twice.

A/N 2: My first Samurai based fic. Hopefully all continues well in this next chapter.

A/N 3: You know the drill...Power Rangers belongs to Saban and formerly Disney as well, and T5RYCB and your new host Jonathan "The Coach" Coachman (formerly of WWE fame) belong to ESPN.

Chapter 2 – Reasons 4 and 5: Always a Target, Finding Himself

(Show returns from commercial break)

 _"Welcome back,"_ Jonathan Coachman says. _"We've given you the background on Jayden and the case against him for leaving his team twice, as well as some reasons why you can't blame him. Now, let's begin our countdown with Reason No. 5."_

(Tape rolls and a photo of Jayden appears with monsters taking aim at him)

 _"Always a Target,"_ Coach said. _"While there have been many Red Rangers who were targeted over the years while in the uniform, very few Rangers were targeted as much as Jayden was while he was in the uniform, because of the power they THOUGHT he possessed."_

"After a while, he just got beaten down thanks to the pressure that was constantly on him," Mia says. "Because of the part he had to play in the quest to beat Master Xandred, he was always targeted since he was the Red Ranger. They thought HE held the sealing power to defeat Xandred, so that's why all these monsters were targeting him."

"The plan that Mentor Ji, Lauren, Jayden and Jayden's parents had to defeat Xandred was a brilliant plan. It didn't completely work, but it was a brilliant plan," Kevin says. "Unfortunately for Jayden, it also put a lot of undue stress on him because he had to continually put himself in the line of fire...pun intended...for a power he didn't have."

 _"In fact, both times Jayden left the Shiba House, it was around a battle where he was without question the prime target...not that he wasn't the target the whole time,"_ Coach said. _"However, in those two battles, both Robtish and Fiera were sent not only to target Jayden, but destroy him for good. There was no one else those two monsters were targeting."_

"When you look at both of those battles, it's a lot easier to see why Jayden left his team both times. The picture of him demorphed after Fiera hammered him says it all. The attack by Fiera on him was one of the most brutal attacks on a Red Ranger ever," Rocky DeSantos said. "As a former Red wearer, it just becomes too much to bear sometimes."

(Picture of Fiera taking aim at Jayden appears as the tape ends)

 _"Did that reason get your attention? Well we've got four more reasons to go. Here is Reason No. 4,"_ Coach says.

(Tape of Jayden walking through a forest, alone, appears)

 _"Finding Himself,"_ Coach says. _"Especially in the wake of the brutal attack by Fiera, and his sister Lauren's return, Jayden felt it was time for him to find himself because his sister had returned."_

"Without question, I have been where he was after that fight many times, and I pulled him aside and told him that after the Legendary Battle," Dr. Oliver says. "It's not that easy when you think you lose your spot on the team, and then you have to find your place in this world. What made it even worse was this was his life."

"He'd put all of his heart, soul and mind into training for this fight, and then to have the knowledge that his sister, the real Red Ranger who could beat Xandred, had come back, to him that was like the final dagger," Mentor Ji said.

 _"In a way, the duel that will be discussed later in this program helped Jayden to find his place,"_ Coach said. _"Not long after he left the house, he encountered an old adversary for the final time and the two battled for hours. It was this duel that helped Jayden find himself in many ways."_

"Jayden and Deker fought for HOURS into the night after he left the house," Emily said. "When we got there in the waning moments of that fight, those two were surrounded by flames and no one could get in."

"We didn't want him to fight Deker, but in retrospect I think for Jayden's sanity he had to," Mike said. "When Lauren came back, he felt he was without a place. When he survived that duel and came back, I think not only did we feel we were whole again, but Jayden was whole again."

"Jayden isn't the first Red Ranger throughout history with the need to find himself," Billy Cranston said. "Tommy, after he lost his Green powers both times, left to find himself as well. In a way, Jayden was like that as well. He was your typical, brooding Red Ranger who sometimes preferred to be alone and find himself."

"Sometimes, it takes events like that, unforeseen events, to realize where your destiny lies," Jayden said. "After that fight with Deker, I knew without question where my destiny lied."

(Picture of Jayden walking alone through the forest is shown as the tape ends)

 _"When our countdown continues, we'll take a more in-depth look at the duel Jayden found himself in the day he left the Shiba House, and why, in many ways, it was a date with destiny for both men involved,"_ Coach said.

"As much as the team didn't want to fight Deker, I think both men needed it," Mentor Ji said. "Both Jayden and Deker needed to fight each other one last time for many reasons over."

(Music plays as segment ends)

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please leave one if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.**


	3. 3: The Deker Duel, Lauren Shiba

A/N 1: It's the sixth installment of the T5RYCB Ranger Series. This time, we Go, Go Samurai to that season and look at the actions of one Jayden Shiba, and why you can't blame him for leaving the Shiba House during the middle of the war with Master Xandred...twice.

A/N 2: My first Samurai based fic. Hopefully all continues well in this next chapter.

A/N 3: You know the drill...Power Rangers belongs to Saban and formerly Disney as well, and T5RYCB and your new host Jonathan "The Coach" Coachman (formerly of WWE fame) belong to ESPN.

Chapter 3 – Reasons 2 and 3: The Deker Duel, Lauren Shiba

(Show returns from commercial break)

 _"We're counting down the Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame Jayden Shiba for leaving his team not once, but twice during the Samurai Rangers' fight with Master Xandred."_

 _"Welcome back to our countdown,"_ Coach says. _"You've already seen reasons 4 and 5 why you can't blame Jayden, and now our countdown continues with Reason No. 3."_

(Photo rolls of Jayden and Deker standing across from each other)

 _"The Deker Duel, which had to be fought by Jayden and Jayden alone,"_ Coach says. _"The Samurai Power Rangers and Jayden thought they had defeated Deker and broken his curse the first time, but that was far from the case."_

"The Deker situation was an odd situation," Mentor Ji said. "As a team we never walk alone, however, in my view, both men...if you can call Deker a man, needed the duel. To my knowledge, Deker was once human and had everything he loved ripped away from him, and at that point in Jayden's life, he needed it even more because he didn't know who he was."

"When Jayden beat him the first time, we thought, that's it, it is over," Kevin said. "However, that wasn't the case because: one, Urumasa was broken in the first duel and two, Deker was wrong about what needed to happen for the curse to be broken."

"Deker was relentless in getting the duel to break his curse, but he was misguided," Mike said. "It turned out that all he needed was for the human part of him to pass on to truly be free. In that way, it was necessary that Jayden had to fight him, to end the curse and put him out of his misery."

 _"As mentioned earlier in the program, Jayden and Deker fought one last time, to the death as it turned out, with a ring of fire surrounding them both; this duel occurred shortly after Jayden left the Shiba house the second time,"_ Coach said. _"Interestingly enough, it was Kevin, the Blue Samurai Ranger, who landed the final blow which broke the curse on Deker and destroyed him."_

"Sometimes, as much as you want to live and carry on your life, you have to let it go sometimes," Lauren said. "What was interesting was that Jay didn't land the final blow on him, Kevin did."

"That does open the critics to Jayden, that someone else could have beat Deker, we all could have beat Deker and gotten rid of the issue," Antonio said, "But I still think Jayden needed that fight as much as Deker needed to be beat."

"Like I said, I share a piece of Jayden's history, not just in color, but in terms of walking alone, being in tune with your surroundings and finding yourself and trying to be the latest Red," Cole Evans said. "He and I share more in common than he will ever realize."

(Picture of Jayden and Deker standing across from each other is shown as the tape ends)

 _"Three reasons down and two more to go. Here is Reason No. 2,"_ Coach said.

(Picture of Lauren is shown as tape rolls)

 _"Lauren Shiba,"_ Coach said. _"As Jayden noted when he left the second time, he was simply a stand-in for his older sister, who was meant to be the true Red Samurai Ranger and was thought to have the necessary tools to defeat Master Xandred once and for all."_

"Lauren and Jayden both did the hardest thing they've ever had to do in their entire lives," Mentor Ji said. "Jayden had to step in and lead a team of Rangers while his sister was in hiding practicing the one thing that was thought could beat Xandred, and then when his sister came back, he left because he thought the team would be divided."

 _"Much like Jayden through his early years, Lauren had also practiced her entire life for coming back and the attempts to seal away Master Xandred for good,"_ Coach said. _"Interestingly enough, the Rangers and the Nighloks both fell for the ruse, that they thought Jayden was the key to beating Xandred."_

"I didn't necessarily like the plan when I first heard of it, but it did its job," Andros said. "Rangers and villains both fell for it; making the villains fall for it was the key obviously, and they did."

"There is no one I would rather have leading my team than Lauren, period," Jayden said. "She came onto the scene at a very late time in the war with Xandred and still bonded very well with everyone on the team and in the house. It went well enough that my sister is now dating my best friend from childhood."

"In addition to being a key player in the war and giving us two Shiba Fire Disks so we could have the ability to beat Xandred once and for all, she was a very kind, caring and likable person which was evident right away," Emily said. "I can see why Jayden walked because he knew Lauren had the ability and the tools to be able to mesh with a team immediately."

(Picture of Lauren is shown as the tape ends)

 _"Coming up, we'll discuss the top reason you can't blame Jayden for leaving early; it's the one thing that Lauren possessed with the ability to beat Xandred that the other Samurai Rangers did not,"_ Coach said.

"The Sealing Symbol...takes a lot of energy out of you and it takes many years to master," Mentor Ji said. "If anyone but Lauren used this symbol, which every Ranger thought Jayden could use, it could have killed him."

(Music plays as segment ends)

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please leave one if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.**


	4. 4: Reason 1: The Sealing Symbol

A/N 1: It's the finale of the sixth installment of the T5RYCB Ranger Series. This time, we Go, Go Samurai to that season and look at the actions of one Jayden Shiba, and why you can't blame him for leaving the Shiba House during the middle of the war with Master Xandred...twice.

A/N 2: My first Samurai based fic. Hopefully all who have read have enjoyed.

A/N 3: You know the drill...Power Rangers belongs to Saban and formerly Disney as well, and T5RYCB and your new host Jonathan "The Coach" Coachman (formerly of WWE fame) belong to ESPN.

Chapter 4 – Reason 1: The Sealing Symbol

(Show returns from commercial break)

 _"We're counting down the Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame Jayden Shiba for leaving his team not once, but twice during the Samurai Rangers' fight with Master Xandred,"_ Coach says. _"Before we get to our No. 1 reason, here's a quick recap."_

 _"Reason No. 5: Always a Target. Because of the power that Jayden was THOUGHT to have possessed, he was a specific target for every Nighlok, including Xandred himself."_

 _"Reason No. 4: Finding Himself. In the wake of his sister's return with the tools thought necessary to defeat Xandred, Jayden had no idea who he was anymore."_

 _"Reason No. 3: The Deker Duel. Both parties needed this one, final showdown, for very different reasons."_

 _Reason No. 2: Lauren Shiba. As the true head of the Shiba Clan, she possessed not only the tools thought necessary to win the fight, but a kind heart and leadership capabilities that were very valuable to the Samurai Rangers."_

 _"Welcome back to our countdown,"_ Coach says. _"Throughout the show we've been giving hints about the top reason, and now, here it is: Reason No. 1."_

(Tape rolls as a picture of Lauren using the Sealing Symbol is shown)

 _"The Sealing Symbol,"_ Coach says. _"Not only was Lauren the Red Ranger that possessed the Sealing Symbol, but Jayden also knew she was the only one who could use the symbol because of its immense power, and that it would be dangerous to any other Samurai Ranger who tried to use it."_

"I had some Rangers, like Mike for example, who had to learn their limitations the hard way. I temporarily took away his Samuraizer early in the fight with Xandred because he tried to use the Beetle Disc," Mentor Ji said. "It was foolish and reckless all at the same time. Jayden on the other hand knew his limitations. That much power, used by Jayden, could have killed him."

"I knew I could only do so much and when Lauren returned, I figured my time was done," Jayden said. "There's only so much you can do, but when the person that's supposed to be there steps in, you have to let it go."

"I don't know a whole lot about the Samurai fight, unlike Billy who monitors EVERY bloody Ranger team," Katherine Cranston says with a light laugh, "but from what I know I would compare it somewhat to if I tried to use the Crane spirit animal. The Crane is not my spirit animal even though Kim passed her coin to me and if I tried to use it like Kimberly did to revive Zordon after beating Ooze, I could have been severely hurt."

"In a way, we were lucky that we mainly used the Shogunzords until we got the Zeo Powers after that," Kat finished. "The Ninjazords were mainly controlled by remote once we freed them."

"When I took the Gold Powers to keep Trey alive, it felt good to be back in the game, but I quickly realized that my human body was not compatible with those powers. Thank God Trey came back for those powers or I'd be dead right now," Jason Scott says. "In a way it was very fortuitous that Lauren came back because the war with Xandred was reaching its peak and it kept Jayden from nearly killing himself."

"In a way, the Powers choose us to save us from ourselves; the case of the Dino Gems is another good example," Conner said. "The gems have special powers that bond to our DNA, like me with super speed. Powers that can be used unmorphed. There's no way any other Ranger could use that gem and if they did, it would hurt them very badly."

"I learned a lot about being a Samurai during my time because I was kind of a class clown to start with, and one of the things I learned is you can't try to take on more than is necessary," Mike said. "Jay put the good of the team ahead of the good of himself, and for that, I will forever respect him immensely. As we say, Rangers together..."

"Samurai forever," Jayden finished.

"I wish he would have stayed after I arrived, but he came back to us and he knew that I was the only one that could use that power, and that if he tried to use it, there would be disastrous consequences," Lauren said.

(Picture of Sealing Symbol is shown as the tape ends)

 _"Well there you have it, the Top 5 Reasons you can't blame Jayden for leaving his team twice during the fight with Xandred,"_ Coach said. _"While walking out on your team is certainly atypical of a Power Ranger, there are usually very good reasons for that departure, and like most Rangers who left the team, Jayden came back to the flock eventually both times. I'm the Coach, and until next time, thanks for watching."_

(Music plays as show comes to a close)

A/N 4: The Quest will be updated at some point this week, but also, be sure to stay tuned for a new story coming up this week. My take on what happens if Kim never gets turned back from Maligore's control and it is the prequel to a much bigger story coming up later. As for the next T5RYCB, we take a look at why you can't blame the Rangers for wearing their colors in public.

 **Review box is at the bottom. Please leave one if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.**


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